A/N: This is dedicated to TinyLittleBows106, who requested this a while back. Sorry it took so long! And, (surprise, surprise) this ended up being more CS than originally intended. There never really was a plot to this spewing of fangirlness, just a random day with the Gold and Jones families. Oh well, hope y'all enjoy it! Review please!

~Earial

Twins. Emma never realized how much work and stress that one word could be synonymous with until she and Killian had their own dynamic duo.

"C'mon kids, we'll be late if we don't hurry." Emma warned, trying to simultaneously corral two playful four-year-olds and don her jacket whilst heading out the door.

"We get to see G'andma and Grampa!" Liam Jr. cheered excitedly as his father walked through the front door.

"Aye, that you do, little one." Hook smiled, swooping up the child in his arms and affectionately rumpling his curly golden head as he headed for the car with his son in tow. "So let's get you ready to leave before your mother decides to stay home." He commented, eliciting a smile from the slightly stressed woman in question.

"Hey Mom, where do you want me to put this casserole?" Eighteen-year-old Henry called from the kitchen.

"Just stick it in the cooler in the trunk." She responded, buttoning up young Hope's coat and grabbing her hand as the Jones car prepared to depart.

Five years after Zelena's defeat had passed, and with them came several new additions to the extensive fairy-tale family, including twins for Emma and Killian, and two children (a third on the way) for Rumple and Belle, whom they were going to visit for dinner.

Despite the fact that neither of the Gold's were blood relations to Liam and Hope, both parties considered them as such, and loved them just as much as their biological grandparents. In fact, everyone had integrated well, including Henry, who doted on his kid siblings and had developed a close fatherly relationship with her husband as well.

"We are a pretty tight-knit group." Emma mused as Killian pulled out of the driveway. (Yes, after years of practice, the former pirate could now manage to drive an automobile with a metal hook as an appendage. Don't ask me how)

"Who would have thought that I'd have this life?" She reflected in amusement, glancing at her 'devilishly handsome' husband next to her, then at the back seat where her three children sat, the two younger ones engrossed in the tale, family history rather, that big brother Henry was spinning for them.

"…And then he gave Grandpa David the water, so he wouldn't die from the poison…"

"Daddy didn't like Gramps then," Hope pointed out, her coal black hair inherited from her father falling in front of her emerald eyes.

"Well, he didn't do it for David…" Henry explained somewhat cryptically.

"Who'd you do it for, Dad?" Liam questioned curiously.

"Your mother; who else?" He replied nonchalantly as he turned onto the desired street.

"And then you fell in love with him, Mommy?" Hope piped up, snuggling between her brothers.

"Well…"

"Of course she did, I'm simply irresistible." Hook teased as Emma shot him an affectionate glance.

"…And humble, too." She countered, taking the opportunity to display her impressive poker face. "So extremely humble, that was what attracted me to him."

"Don't forget his great cooking." Henry added from the back.

"So I can't make a bloody crème brûlée; you wouldn't hold that against a fellow, would you?" Killian protested.

"That's okay Daddy," Liam comforted, bright blue eyes catching the early spring light. "You can sail a ship, and most people can't."

"Never thought I'd have a four-year-old consoling me on my lack of culinary skills." Killian murmured to Emma in an undertone as they pulled into the Gold's.

"Hush, you know that all three love you, despite the absence of crème brûlée." Emma laughed as she unbuckled Liam from his car seat.

"You're all quite infatuated with me and my charm." He agreed as they walked up to the front door, which opened to reveal a smiling, and very pregnant, Belle.

"Emma! Kids!" She smiled as she ushered them into the stately house.

"Mrs. Gold." Killian intoned coolly, making a mock low bow as she returned the gesture.

"Mr. Jones."

The pretense of icy familiarity vanished as they laughingly gave each other a hug. Their once strained relationship (attempted murder does tend to do that) was now a healthy friendship, both parties enjoying the fake resentment that they still pretended to share on occasion.

"Welcome everyone." Rumplestiltskin greeted warmly, followed by five-year-old Neal and three-year-old Kimberley as they ran to meet their cousins and drag them to the dining room.

The family luncheon was one enjoyed by all, judging by the rapidity with which the victuals disappeared as the relatives caught up with each other.

"So, whadda ya do last week?" Neal asked Liam as he shoveled pumpkin pie into his mouth, to the horror of his mother and the quiet amusement of his father.

"Henry and Dad taught me to sail the Jolly Roger." The miniature Jones child replied proudly, secretly envious of the substantial amount of dessert his cousin was capable of fitting in his diminutive eating trap.

"That we did." Hook smiled at his sons. "They're both quite the able-bodied seamen."

"Th'ailing, Un'cle Killian?" Kimberley asked in her charming lisp as she endeavored to climb into her father's lap, miraculously able to avoid spilling any food as she did so.

"Remember Kim?" Liam said. "We went on the boat last year for a ride."

"I don't think she'd remember that, sweetie," Belle interposed gently. "-Considering she was not yet two."

"When can I learn to sail?" Hope questioned, pushing ebony bangs out of her face that seemed determined to forever impede her vision.

"Soon." Emma promised, reaching over to cut the neglected green beans on her daughter's plate. "It's in your blood."

"I love the water and the sea." Neal announced enthusiastically, waving his fork around in his excitement at the subject. "Mom taught me how to swim in our pool."

"Took six months of begging and pleading before he finally wore me down to buying it." Rumple explained to the adults with a chuckle.

"It's hot out, we should go play in it." Neal suggested, pushing back his chair and hopping to his feet.

"We didn't bring swimsuits." Hope pointed out logically, though doubtlessly this small detail would have done little to deter the boys.

At this, Henry raised his head, eyes alight with an idea. "I have something that will cool you off without needing a swimsuit. C'mon, and thanks for the meal, Belle." He called over his shoulder as he deposited his dish in the sink.

All four kids eagerly followed him outside in delighted anticipation while the remaining company shared smiles of fond amusement.

"Heads up!" Henry called as a red water balloon gracefully arched in the air before anticlimactically falling three feet short of his intended target with a 'splat'. Despite being almost fifteen years older than his younger siblings and relatives, he never outgrew their company and 'Cousin Henry' was a huge favorite with any child in Storybrooke.

Hook smiled as he watched them play, feeling nostalgia tug on his heart as he recalled a similar instance when Henry had acquainted him with water warfare years ago.

"They grow fast, don't they?" Rumple asked reminiscently, coming up behind Killian as the adults walked onto the porch overlooking the spacious yard.

"Aye." He sighed, gratefully accepting the offered glass of lemonade as he sat down. "It seems a few days ago when Henry barely came up to my chest and now he's nearly as tall as me."

"If you had given birth to three children, I think you'd feel the years a little more." Emma remarked laughingly, sitting next to him as Belle nodded in agreement and sympathy that only a mother could understand.

"I'll give you that." Hook grinned as Neal chucked a green water bomb with his impression of an Indian war-chief yell. Sitting on the veranda, the two couples, once driven far apart by hate and vengeance, now relaxed together contentedly as the sweet clamor of their children swelled and filled the dusky air.

"Yuss! First try!"

"I want the pink one!"

"Watch out for Kim!"

"Got'cha!"

"Thank you for hosting." Emma thanked Belle warmly as they hugged in the front hall. "Kids, what do we tell Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Thank you!" Liam exclaimed happily, throwing himself around the knees of both parties in a bear hug so closely resembling his older brother's it brought a grin to the lips of said sibling.

Hope was a little more reserved in her farewells, but they were nonetheless just as full of childish love. "Love you." She said sweetly, embracing her grandparents and cousins in turn.

"Till next time, mates." Killian saluted as the Jones family, slightly more damp then before, packed into the car and drove home.

Emma gently brushed a stray curl off of Liam's face before crossing over to Hope and tucking the blankets in a little closer. She then traversed across the hall to Henry's room and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. He would have squirmed in horror had he learned of his mother's continued nightly ritual at his age, but no matter how old they got, they were and always would be her children.

Normally, Henry went to bed pretty early, (as in two o'clock in the morning early) but this night he had surprised her by settling for a decent eleven. Teenagers.

She walked back into the hall from which she could see all three precious offspring as the moon danced in harmony with the leaping and twisting shadows on the wall. She stood a moment in silent amazement at the life she'd never thought the savior could have, portrayed in flesh and blood before her eyes. A soft step came from behind her as strong arms encircled her waist, interrupting her busy mind.

"What are you thinking of, darling?"

Emma twisted in Killian's embrace, smiling as she wrapped her arms around him. "How lucky and thankful I am for you, the kids and this life. I…I…"

"Never thought you'd have it?" He supplied quietly, gazing down into her face.

She sighed, burying her face in his plaid shirt that still managed to smell like leather and rum. "Never thought I'd have a chance." She murmured.

"A chance was right in front of you." He chuckled, pulling her closer. "You just needed a little prodding to see it."

"More like a lot. I was such a pain…"

"Trust me love," Killian smiled, nuzzling her hair as they watched their family sleep. "You were worth the trouble."

The End